Why Bonaventura Is the AC Milan Player Most in Need of the International Break

The international break is a complex time for a club like AC Milan.  Sending players to national teams is an honour, but there's always the chance that something could go wrong.  Players could get injured playing for their countries, severely hampering their clubs.  And sometimes, a player gets called up who could really use the break to rest.

Such is the case with two of the three players Milan are sending to Antonio Conte's camp at Coverciano.  Riccardo Montolivo has only just returned from an injury, and another spell on the sidelines from him could be problematic for Milan's already-weak midfield.

The other point of concern comes from one of the Rossoneri's best players over the last two seasons—Giacomo Bonaventura.

Bonaventura arrived at Milan on deadline day in the summer of 2014 for €7 million.  He very quickly established himself as an indispensable piece for the club.  Capable of playing either in the hole behind the strikers or on the left wing and a wizard in dead-ball situations, Bonaventura is a legitimate game-changer—without him, the team's play is dramatically different.

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On a team starved for creativity, Bonaventura is the lone bright light.  An excellent dribbler, he is one of the few sources of quality service for strikers like Carlos Bacca.  He's recorded seven assists this season and, according to WhoScored.com, averaged a team-leading 2.3 key passes per game.  The next man on the list, Keisuke Honda, averages 1.3.  He's even potted six goals for good measure.

His play has rightly earned him a call-up to the Azzurri, where this week he'll look to add to his collection of two international caps.  But with Italy facing a high-caliber opposition in Spain and Germany, Bonaventura's position on the fringes of the national team picture could mean few minutes, if any.  But that might not necessarily be a bad thing.

Bonaventura has still been playing full-bore, but there are signs that he's starting to crack from the strain of his workload.  He's played in 28 of Milan's 30 games this year, 27 as a starter.  That's good for a total of 2,450 minutes this season, second only to Bacca, who has him beat by half an hour.  The next man on the list, Alessio Romagnoli, is a whopping 227 minutes behind him.

That's a huge workload.  It will take him only a game-and-a-half to exceed his minutes total from last season—and there will still be six games to go in the season by that point.  With Milan fighting for a spot in European competition, Bonaventura will need to be on the field for all of them.

In the last few weeks Bonaventra has seen a slight but noticeable dip in form.  According to WhoScored's stats for Milan's 2-0 loss to Sassuolo three weeks ago, he completed only 67.5 percent of his passes—well below his season percentage of 81.5.  Against Chievo he was again below 80 percent completion and didn't manage a single key pass.  On Sunday against Lazio he did notch a key pass, put three shots on target and another into the crossbar, but only completed 61 percent of his passes.

These numbers suggest that Bonaventura is getting worn down.  Even coach Sinisa Mihajlovic acknowledged the potential problem in his post-match press conference on Sunday (h/t Football Italia), telling reporters "Jack and Keisuke Honda play constantly because we don't have other options, so they are bound to get tired and not as sharp as we'd like."

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If Bonaventura's form continues to regress, Milan could have a real problem on their hands.  With no reliable creative outlet besides him, if his workload ends up pulling him down the team's goals could dry up entirely.  Outside of an April 9 clash against Juventus, all of the team's games leading up to the season finale against Roma should start with Milan as at least nominal favorites.

They can hold their position and make it to Europe, but they need their creative force in order to get them there.  That's why the next week is so important.

Even with Bonaventura at Coverciano, his workload this week will likely be reduced.  He's a good bet to start from the bench in both games, and the relatively relaxed atmosphere of international friendlies will be less of a tax than a full-fledged league game.

Bonaventura is badly in need of a rest, and even though it's not the complete one that he would otherwise be getting, his workload over the next week will likely be light enough to recharge his batteries to some level—which will be a boon to Mihajlovic and Milan as they fight to stay in the top six.